An Explosive Blond in this Wonderful World
by Manny Siliezar
Summary: A different outcome, one where Izuku's curiosity was crushed alongside his dream. One where All Might was not moved to act until too late. Katsuki Bakugo died during the sludge villain's attack. But, that's where his story begins. Now, if only he could find someone sane in this hellhole of a wonderful world.
1. Chapter 1

Katsuki Bakugo struggled for breath, his eyes watered as the slow creeping realization of his death dawned on him. He was going to die. He was never going to get the chance to be a hero. He vainly clawed away at the thick mucous as it slowly tried to force itself down his throat. It stung, it hurt. His vision became cloudy even as the fear still etched itself on his quivering eyes.

Why was no one helping him? His surroundings were vague, he couldn't quite make them out, not through his panic nor the white spots. But he did recall that he was in a neighbourhood. The villain dragged him here for whatever reason. It was here that he thought he'd lash out, to attempt to generate attention.

It worked, and he was certain rescue was imminent. But after a minute, two then three of consistent struggling, the panic crept in. His lungs burned as if molten lava, how desperately he wanted a breath of air. The horror soon followed when his shaky gaze landed on the crowd of bystanders and heroes.

Someone help him!

His eyes pleaded, begged for help. It never came, the heroes were plagued by indecisiveness, too cautious to move. He understood, but it didn't do anything for his fleeting consciousness. His vision became hazy, and soon after his lungs gave out.

Everything went black moments later.

* * *

Katsuki woke with a jolt, his red eyes snapped open with a crazed quiver. His gaze immediately went to his surroundings, or in this instance, lack thereof. Everything was an empty void. Perception was muddled by the same black tone encompassing his every direction.

Only then did he realize he was breathing heavily. That startled him, breathing at all was something he didn't expect to do again. That's when the rest of his memories returned. The villain, the fires, the lack of breathing, his death. But most importantly the sense of vulnerability.

The helplessness, the fact he actually looked for others for help. It made him fume. His blood boiled in anger and mortification. In his final moments, he was nothing more than a coward.

"God DAMN IT!" Katsuki shouted angrily, hoping to release the bubbling frustration.

"Meep!" A voice cutely squeaked.

Cutely?

Katsuki whirled to the sound and came face to face with a silver-haired girl. She wore a purple and white dress, with a purple hat reminiscent of a nun headpiece. She seemed positively spooked by his outburst. Which, admittedly made Katsuki duck his head, but only for a moment.

He still has too many questions to feel ashamed for spooking the girl.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked.

Perhaps not nearly as tactfully as intended. But it got the message across, even if it made said girl flinch.

"U-uh, Katsuki Bakugo. You are in the afterlife. Your life was cut short, and you have just passed away. My deepest apologies. Now you are gi-"

"Answer my DAMN QUESTION!" He shouted, losing patience and admittedly not wanting to hear much about his apparent death.

"Y-Y-Yesss! S-sorry, my name is Eris, a Goddess. When someone dies, it's my duty to guide them on. However, since you passed away at a young age, yo-"

"SHUT UP!" Katsuki snapped.

"I'm sorry!" The goddess begged.

It was off-putting, and embarrassing, so Katsuki ignored it in favour of the other information presented to him. He was dead.

He didn't want to believe it. But, well, his surroundings were pretty telling. He couldn't think of a quirk that could do something this extensive. He also remembered his last fleeting moments with painful clarity. His body was…. He didn't want to think about it.

He clicked his tongue as he looked back to the nervous goddess. Predictably she didn't meet his eyes as she inspected her fingers in an attempt to appear nonchalant. A vein bulged at the imagery, but Katsuki managed to fight down his growing anger.

"Hey, you. Now what? Don't tell me I'm stuck with you forever."

"Oh, Gods no!" Eris responded far too quickly, waving her hands frantically before her.

Katsuki narrowed his eyes at the remark.

"I… I mean, you have three options. The first, you get sent to heaven. However, before you chose. I'd suggest against it. It's more suited for those who've lived long lives. Yours was unfortunately snuffed short."

Katsuki nodded his head and with his hand motioned for her to continue.

"The second option is to be reincarnated back into your world. You wouldn't have any memories nor the same quirk. Oh, but we will make sure you stay the same gender. Thi-"

"I refuse. What's the final option?" Katsuki interrupted with a wave.

There's no way he'd have any other quirk. Even if he wouldn't remember. Explosion is his. He'd rather stay in Heaven for eternity than give up his amazing quirk.

"O-okay… Well, the third option is a bit different," Eris pauses to clear her throat, and takes on a grandiose tone, "In another fantasy world, much like those RPG's youths like yourself play, there resides a Demon King. This Demon King plagues the country with his pillaging and destruction. Due to this, not many people reincarnate into this world and it's suffering from a birth deficit. You will be transported to this world with your memories intact and will be given the opportunity to be a hero!"

She finished with a small fist pump, sparkles in her amethyst eyes. Katsuki quirked an eyebrow in return, not particularly convinced. If it was such a shitshow, why the hell was she trying to send him there?

"What kind of hell hole are you trying to send me to?" Katsuki asked incredulously.

"Hellhole!? No, No! I mean, yes. But, in order to make up for it, those who pick to reincarnate in this world are given a magical weapon, or special ability to compensate," Eris explained frantically.

"Special ability?" Katsuki asked, his curiosity piqued.

"That's right, anything you could think of, we will impleme-"

"I'll go with option three," Katsuki interrupted, slouching as he slipped his hands into his pocket.

Eris nearly face vaulted at the sudden proclamation. She managed to recover and stare tentatively towards the blond. That's all she needed to do? She wasn't sure how to take it. Katsuki for his part looked confident in his decision.

"A-are you certain?" Eris asked, her skepticism still present.

"Hah?" Katsuki grunted, his eyes taking on a dangerous edge.

"Meep!"

"Any ability works? That includes my quirk too, then?" Katsuki asked, ignoring how the girl, no goddess shrunk in on herself.

"Y-yes, but you could have anything you want. I have a list of examples for you to cho-"

"My quirk."

"So fast! Are you- right, of course, you are, silly me, hee hee…" Eris corrected herself, seeing the pointed glare sent her way.

She giggled nervously before clearing her throat, "please stand in the circle."

Katsuki obliged, standing upright with his hands in his pockets. He may have been a bit excited by this turn of events, but he certainly wasn't going to show it. He masked indifference even as he began to float, his face a cool expression.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, you will learn the language of this new world. It'll be programmed into your brain. There's a small chance it'll explode, but you don't need to worry about it. Once you defeat the Demon King, we will grant you any wish you want," Eris called, a hand to her mouth as she watched the blond float higher and higher.

He nearly spun out of control, "oi, what the fuck did you just say? That sounded important you damn hag!"

"Indeed, but it's a justified reward for anyone brave enough to battle against the Demon King," Eris yelled-explained.

"Not that you bimbo, the other thing!"

"What other thing?" She asked way too seriously to be anything but intentional.

"My brain exploding!? What the fuck are you trying to pull here, bring me down," Katsuki answered anyways, not at all liking the prospect of dying a second time.

"Katsuki Bakugo, may your journey on this wonderful world begin!" Eris called, ignoring him easily.

"Don't ignore me! Bring me down. Down! You sonnavabiiiiiiii-"

* * *

Katsuki woke with a startle for the second time. However, instead of a blacken abyss all around him. This time he was greeted to a sun shining in his eyes. He squinted and brought an arm to shade himself. He then slowly raised, dusting himself in the process.

He was in the middle of a street, a medieval street. The road was made of gravel, not a car in sight. There were a few people wearing some odd clothes too. Well, perhaps it was the norm and instead his school uniform was the odd clothes.

It was a bit startling to see. Especially given how he died so very recently. It felt like things were progressing far more quickly than he'd have anticipated. Yet despite that, now that he found himself here, he had no idea what to do.

Well, there was one thing, he immediately realized. He raised a hand and willed his quirk to activate. Much to his relief, small micro explosions started to pop and dance across his open palm. He smirked, perfect. Just like he last remembered it.

Now, all he needed to do was find this Demon King and beat the shit out of him. It sounded simple enough. He scanned his surroundings, and eventually decided on asking the nearest person to him for directions.

"Oi, you, squarehead, where can I go to find the Demon King?"

"S-squarehe- DEMON KING?" The man squealed.

"Did I stutter? You know where to find him?"

"N-no, why would you…" The squareheaded man faltered, staring at the retreating figure of the rude blond that previously approached him.

Katsuki clicked his tongue in frustration. Wouldn't be that simple. He guessed he'd really need to treat this as an RPG after all. Although that may be a bit interesting, he knew just how long and tedious RPG's could be. Not to mention convoluted, At least it's not like an MMO. He hoped at least if he needed to fetch for an arbitrary number of arbitrary items to trade for an arbitrary key to an arbitrary dungeon or something he'd riot.

The Demon King would have to wait. Katsuki sighed at the thought. He was hoping to be done by the day. Perhaps a little ambitious. Katsuki surveyed the buildings and stands as he walked down the streets. It looked like a market, with produce and even equipment being sold. Said equipment being armour, shields, and weapons. It drew his attention momentarily; he wouldn't deny being a little excited at the prospect.

But ultimately, he ignored the stands in favour of walking some more. As far as he knew, he didn't have any money. Well, besides some yen. But, he doubted any of that had monetary value here. He really should have strong-armed that stupid goddess for some cash.

Money makes the world go round. Without any, Katsuki doubted he'd be able to do anything, let alone defeat the Demon King. But how could he accumulate any? Who in their right mind would hire some weird looking kid like himself? It was a bitter truth to accept.

It occurred to him then, that he needed to approach this like he would an RPG. Assuming he was located in the starting town or starting zone. Then, there should be some guild or hall he could go to find some jobs. He could take out quests and make cash. With his quirk at his disposal, clearing small-time quests would be a walk in the park.

Confident with his rudimentary plan, Katsuki followed the streets until they led to a massive building. Asking around, concluded that it was the adventuring guildhall. He shrugged, not wanting to look the gift horse in the mouth as he entered through the double doors.

He was immediately introduced to a massive skeleton of a dragon dangling from the ceiling. It looked very impressive and only further cemented the fact he was in a fantasy world. Although, admittedly a dragon wouldn't look too out of place in his own world either.

"Here to eat? Take a seat at the tables, here to work, you can head to the counter," A waitress called out to him.

He turned and mutely nodded, his gaze drawn more to the revealing nature of the uniform more than anything else. He shook his head, clearing himself of those thoughts before heading to the counter. His eyes bugged at the ridiculous amount of cleavage showing.

He coughed into his hand and quickly buried any and all reactions to the attire.

"Hello, my name is Luna, how may I help you?" The woman greeted professionally.

Her uniform was anything but!

"Right, I'd like to take out a quest,"

"I can help you with that, but first, could you show me your adventuring card?"

"Adventuring card?" Katsuki questioned confusedly.

"You don't know?"

"Enlighten me," Katsuki gritted, put out at the thought of not being able to do some jobs immediately.

"Right, well, first an adventurer needs to register with the guild before they can take out jobs. Then, an adventurer will be given an adventuring card that they can use to keep track of their stats, class, and skills. We use this machine here," Luna concluded, gesturing to a golden globe looking construct.

Katsuki nodded wordlessly. Like an RPG was downplaying the similarities it seemed. This system was identical to the most recent RPG he played. What kind of on the nose bullshit did that Goddess feed him? This world was a bloody RPG!

"Hm, I'll register then."

"Certainly, that'll be 20 eris,"

"What?"

"Eris, you don't know?"

"Enlighten me…" Katsuki repeated, his gaze hardening as a vein threatened to burst.

"Well, eris is the name of the currency, named after the Goddess of Fortune, Eris."

That shitty-forgetful-nervous goddess was that important! Just anybody could become a god it seemed. Where the hell was his invite?

Katsuki thumped his chest as he recovered from the revelation. It was twofold, as he discovered that his yen was in fact, useless and that he needed eris if he wanted to register at all. To think they'd send him to this alleged hellhole without even the bare minimum to work with.

Even RPG's gave you a little money to use to get your baring! This was simply ridiculous. What was he supposed to do? He needed money to work. That was intuitively backward!

"Excuse me sir? I'm guessing that since you didn't know of eris, that you don't have any. I'm sorry, but without any money to pay, I cannot register you," Luna explained, looking solemn but resolute.

Katsuki remained silent, unsure of how to react. It'd sound way too pathetic to ask where to get eris or for any exceptions. Instead, he grumbled in place and kicked at the dirt. Eventually, he decided to leave the building without so much a single word.

He needed cash asap. Quickest way? Well, like most RPG's. through mobs. But how to find any, or to attract any? Simple. Katsuki shifted his gaze from the stands to the buildings, then the small gaps in between them.

Alleyways.

He just needs to mug his muggers, he concluded with the infallible wisdom that comes from continuous hours of video gaming. Hey, it would be done in self-defense. He'd be doing this town a favour too, putting down villains was what he wanted to do in his previous life anyways, might as well actually do it now that he's given the second chance.

Katsuki slipped away from the crowds into an alleyway, he followed the zigzag paths until they eventually led to a dead end. That should do it, now, normally if this was a video game or manga, the event flag should have flared. And since this world was basically an RPG, logic dictated that the moment he turned around, a few slimy bastards would be trying to intimidate him.

He spun on his heels, feral smirk plastered on his face. To the sight of no one. Okay, that was unexpected. He visibly deflated at the empty alleyway. Where was his walking walle- villains, walking villains? What the hell was he supposed to do now? Katsuki dragged his feet as he exited the alley. What a waste of time.

"Oh look at that poor homeless boy with his funny looking clothing,"

"He looks dangerous though, probably why he's homeless."

"Youths this young on the streets, how horrible."

"Here, take my money!"

"Mine too, you poor animal-looking child, you need it more than I."

"He does look like a feral dog doesn't he? Here, take something to fix that face of yours."

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Katsuki roared, finally snapping at the bystanders ridiculing him.

No one mocked Katsuki, not after what Deku did. He woudln't stand for it!

"Oh, look, he's a tsundere! I thought they didn't exist," An older man said, tossing a few coins in front of him.

"This is his tsun side huh?" An elderly lady said secondly, gently plopping a bill on his head.

"Aweeh, he's kinda cute in a homeless ugly kind of way," a young fox looking lady said, tossing coins at him.

The last comment made him twitch violently more so than the first two. Tsundere? TSUNDERE? Also, stop pelting him with fucking coins! Holy hell, are they pitying him or stoning him?

He picked up the coins, grumbling how he refused to use them. Instead, he'd rather beat the bastards who'd mock him. He didn't need their pity, he didn't need their help he- holy hell how much money did these idiots give him?

Katsuki paused to count the coins and bills. They use bills at all was a bit shocking. But, the fact they were given out was even more so. He spent a few more minutes recollecting himself returning back to the safety and privacy of his alleyway. He was left dumbstruck after discovering these people tossed away roughly 400 eris. Just what in the hell was wrong with the people here?

He needed to return this. These weren't the mobs he wanted to steal from. Now he just felt like a degenerate. But, as he attempted to return the wads of cash, he came to the realization that the people already left. His mouth thinned. Guess he had no choice… left him in a foul mood though.

"Hey, lookie here, kid's loaded," Someone said, clamping an arm around his shoulder.

"Indeed he is, let us help count it for you, over there sounds good right?" Another said, pointing to the alleyway.

Katsuki only needed a second to realize his situation. And the smirk that formed on his mouth was positively sinister.

"Lead the way extr- I mean, bastards."

* * *

Katsuki slammed down the 20 eris with more force than necessary, startling the distracted Luna.

"H- Ah, I…oh, hello again…" She choked out after a momentary respite.

"Register me as an adventurer."

"Right away, please put your hand inside this machine," Luna recovered professionally.

Katsuki obliged. The machine scanned his hand, then a small prickle was taken from his fingertip. He ignored it in favour of pointedly looking elsewhere with a grumble. Who hired the slutty secretary anyways? Why was she leaning over her desk to inspect the machine, couldn't she be normal and just leave her station for one god damn second?

"Katsuki Bakugo… strange name, ah, your strength stats are quite impressive. Same with your Agility... Intelligence…. Wisdom…. Defense…. my word, all of your stats are well above average!"

A crowd started to stir and draw in nearer. They just finished hearing something incredible, of course, they'd be curious. Said interest died a writhing death the moment the blond opened his mouth.

"Haha, obviously! I'm going to be the best fucking adventurer in this damn world!" Katsuki shouted, manic laughter followed as he found himself on top of the counter.

"Except Charisma, this is the lowest score I've seen in all of my time working here, so abysmally low. Are you perhaps a shut-in?"

Katsuki managed to catch himself before tumbling to the ground. He recovered swiftly enough and stared at the receptionist.

"Perhaps you should shut the hell up and continue reading the damn card!"

Luna wilted under his glare, "well that explains that. Almost every class is available to you, except Bard. I'd sooner quit my job then let you take that class," she said the last part to herself.

"Oi," Well mostly to herself.

"Here's a list of all the greater classes available to you, feel free to take your time," Luna said taking a long scroll from out of somewhere.

Again, once recovering from his slight power-craze, Katsuki didn't really want to look at the woman. He grunted as he grabbed the list and inspected it.

Archwizard, archpriest, magic knight, grand druid. None really appealed to him. He had Explosion already, magic would be inferior in comparison. No, he'd pick a class that perfectly catered to his already high strength and agility.

His gaze scanned through the multiple classes until they fell on one, he couldn't pass up. His mouth formed into a feral smirk. This was it, this was the class for him.

"Hey you, I want this class," Katsuki said abruptly, promptly drawing Luna's attention.

"Hmm, the Berserker class? It suits you."

"The hell does that mean!?" He shouted irritably.

"A perfect match!" The receptionist exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"Tch, whatever, just give me my damn card."

"Here you go Katsuki, I'd recommend forming a pa- I'd recommend you take on simpler quests until you've increased your level high enough to take solo standard ones," Luna explained with a closed eye smile.

Katsuki nodded, agreeing with her assessment. He pointedly ignored her slip up there. Even as his veins threatened to burst.

"You have one skill available to you, it's called 'Explosion', but it isn't the same as the strand of magic it's named for, how odd. I don't think I've seen a skill like this before."

"No shit, it's my personal skill, mine, and mine alone."

"That would explain it, one final thing. Since you're already level 2 for some reason, you have 5 skill points available to you. You can use these to learn some class-related skills," Luna responded mechanically not taking any offense to his crass manner of speech.

Katsuki grinned menacingly at the thought of those extra- no, pardon, bastards that tried to mug him. He felt less guilty about the money he took from them than the money given to him for his perceived homelessness.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I'm going to take a quest now," The teen dismissed easily with a wave of his hand.

He marched towards the bulletin board with the swagger one would expect from someone owning the place. He bumped into a waitress, but didn't so much as look at her, let alone apologize as he blazed towards the posted quests. Luna sighed.

What an interesting, read: ridiculous group of newbies she's had recently.

* * *

Adventurer's Card

Name: Katsuki Bakugo

Race: Human

Class: Berserker

Level: 2

HP: 25/25

MP: 120/120

Strength (STR): 29

Defense (DEF): 19

Resistance (RES): 13

Intelligence (INT): 25

Wisdom (WIS): 17

Agility (AGL): 28

Dexterity (DEX): 14

Charisma (CHA): 2

Luck (LCK): 8

Skill Points: 5

Skills:

Explosion (lvl1)

The more the ability is used, the stronger it becomes. A powerful quirk that allows the user to use his sweat to create explosions. Overuse will cause strain. This transitions to mana exhaustion if overused now. The ability is unheard of in this world and is given divine properties that bypass all defenses and resistances sans skills or abilities that negate damage. Modifiers and buffs stack on top of Explosion's damage calculations before mana consumption.

Damage Calculations: Explosion does complete 100% true damage. Damage is dictated by MP consumption. Damage: 0.2xMP used. Explosion does 4% shredding to DEF and RES and stacks per additional attack up to 20% of total DEF and RES.

* * *

**AN: What is this you ask? Good question, a little idea that nestled into my head. Not likely to be updated often, which says something because I don't even update my other stories often. Also, Explosion is a broken skill. Might have pitiful numbers now, but let's just say he's a scaling hyper carry. **


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Not gonna lie, this story has had the best first chapter reception I've ever had. Thanks so much! I felt compelled to write a second chapter far sooner than anticipated because of it. You guys are quite amazing! Thanks so much for the reviews too, holy heck that's amazing. I never received this many reviews for a first chapter before either! Anyways, I should make it clear that I actually don't know much about the world of Konosuba. All my knowledge would come from the anime, and vaguely at that. Continuity itself isn't going to be much of a focus for this story. Either way, thanks so much for reading!**

* * *

Katsuki ducked under the tongue and rolled away to give himself some more distance. He used his explosions to elevate him soon after and turned in mid-air, pelting the giant toad with a generous eruption.

A cloud of smoke wafted and lingered, giving Katsuki the shield of cover to land safely back onto the ground. He landed on one knee, and slowly stood up, spinning on his heels to examine his handiwork. As the smoke dissipated, all the remained was a singed toad, tongue lolling out of its mouth.

He smirked ferally, that was 5. Easy work, he didn't even need equipment. Just his Explosion sufficed. That isn't to say he didn't get any equipment. He spent 200 eris on getting leather armour, light and loose to allow him to fight as he wished. Also, it helped him appear more local than his school gakuran did. It served a nice bonus of no longer being given pitying stares. Seriously, his uniform looked military, not homeless. Those damn extras.

The fact he still managed to receive some pity money after the fact infuriated him the most. But that was better left unsaid.

Anyways, the armour was helpful with immersing him to the setting. It was a bit uncomfortable and rough on his skin though. Not that he would complain, pussies complained. Either way, the lack of comfort annoyed him momentarily. He'll get used to it he'd imagine.

Beyond leather armour, he mostly just got disposables, like mana potions and or antidotes for the toad's neurotoxins. Those were also quite expensive in their own right, coming up to another 250 eris. What bothered him was that he still had leftover change. Seriously, it was as if they took the chance to stone him then flee. Those damned cowards. He'll pay them back, that he swore on.

It still startled him how much money he was given. To put it in perspective, it cost only 5 eris to stay a night at the nearby inn. It was ludicrous, just how much money were those idiots willing to part with?

Katsuki shook his head, better not think of it, that path led to madness, of two kinds. He fished for his adventurer card and inspected it once more. He smiled triumphantly when noticing he finally hit level 3. It took him roughly a week to get here. Either these toads were stupidly weak or leveling would scale. He'd much rather think it's the latter of the two, for his ego if nothing else. Besides, it made sense to him, most RPG's played out that way anyways.

Unfortunately, the card doesn't tell him how much more experience he needed to level up. Some experimentation was in order. He fetched into his bag and grabbed another vial of an aqua blue liquid. He chugged it back and idly tossed the bottle away, letting it shatter on the grassy fields.

He spun on his feet, a cruel grin on his face as his gaze zeroed on the remaining toads.

"Ribbit," The toad gulped.

Explosions erupted from his palms, launching him towards the cowering mobs.

* * *

Katsuki eyed his adventuring card with furrowed brows. He neglected it before, but now that he managed to successfully turn in a few toad quests, he felt as if he had the liberty to take a moment's respite. Besides, learning more about his new class served a purpose anyways. Much like any other RPG, sharpening one's understanding of a class helped optimize play.

From what he can tell, most skills are behind a level wall. That made sense from a balancing perspective. Any PVP game would quickly go to shit if the noobs had access to the powerful stuff. Still, it was a bit frustrating for Katsuki since he already considered himself to be quite the proficient fighter as is.

Before dying, he was striving to be a hero. As such, he had to work out often and even had a knack for battle. It transitions seemingly to this world. So, to be stuck at level 3, and only have 3 skills available to him… Well, it's a slow process in retrospect.

The three skills are simply, Taunting Cry, Battle Grudge and Enraged. The first one was standard cc tank stuff, so Katsuki instantly dismissed it. Who would he even tank for? He was always strictly a DPS player anyways.

Said thoughts changed tunes the moment he read about Battle Grudge. Did bonus damage to enemies who've hurt him recently. It was a passive skill too, permitting he had the mana to keep it on. An active-passive skill? It hardly mattered. It synergized quite well with Taunting Cry. Something to consider in the future.

But for now, his choice was obvious. Enraged gave him damage nullifiers against and damage modifiers for. Without any drawbacks either. Only thing was that he could only use it once per day. It also seemed like a skill that would scale along with his level.

Overall, a really good skill to pick up. And now that he hit level 3, he had just enough skill points to purchase it at 10.

Not wasting another moment, Katsuki jabbed his card, confirming his decision to pick up the skill. He didn't feel any different, but it did show how his skill points went back down to zero. With a shrug, he decided the earlier he could test the skill the better.

He went back up to the bulletin board to look over some other quests. After a week of doing toad extermination quests, he wanted a change of scenery. Especially now that some noobs were infringing on his hunting grounds. Rather than tell them off, he took it as a sign that he really was deserving of better.

After all, those noobs kept getting eaten.

And waving at him. No idea why though, he didn't make any effort to speak to them, so he doesn't know why they felt the need to try to involve him. Probably noticed how easily he dealt with the toads and just wanted to get carried. He'd rather not carry randoms if he can help it though.

Two shadows crept up on him, likely to look at the bulletin board too. Katsuki didn't pay it any mind beyond that and went back to looking at some quests. Griffin and a Manticore? That sounded interesting, a bit too steep, unfortunately, given his level. He'll work up to it he figured.

"Hey, did you hear?" One of the adventurers said.

"Yeah, new dungeon quest. I'm thinking of gathering the boys together for one final dungeon crawl," the other responded, sounding boisterous.

"Good idea. Wish I had friends to do the dungeon with. Don't think you can accept it solo, unfortunately."

"That's correct. There's rumours that one of the Demon King Generals is residing in there, the guild can't take any chances."

Katsuki went ramrod straight. Now that caught his attention. He spun on his heels, turning to look at the two adults.

"You, you need a party right? Join mine. We go righ-"

"Hell no, pass," The solo adventurer said with a shake of his head.

Katsuki's vein threatened to burst, "and why the fuck not?"

"We've just met, ya know? I just don't really feel like it," the man excused lamely.

"What the fuck does that have to do with the dungeon?"

"It's just, well, I mean, you know?"

"No I don't, enlighten me dipshit," The explosive blond said stiffly.

"Uggh, I just want to go with my friends, not dungeon crawl with randoms," the man complained, sagging his shoulders.

Katsuki heard something snap, he wasn't sure what, maybe his sanity. With bloodshot eyes he stared down the man with a manic grin. Explosions danced at his palms.

The two nervously inched away.

"Heyo, I heard you're looking for a party member? I might be able to give you a hand."

Katsuki took a steadying breath and turned to face the new voice. He immediately noticed the sports bra, and then the short shorts. And frankly, that was it. He blanched at the imagery. What the hell was this flat-chested girl wearing? Flaunt it when you got it, sure. But otherwise don't. You'd be embarrassing yourself.

He grimaced but quickly recovered, he stared at the purple-eyed girl questioningly, "well, how? You plan on joining?"

"Oh, gods no!" She denied instantly.

"Then how the fuck do you propose to help?" Katsuki snapped back instantly.

"I have a friend in the looks for a party, if you two team up together, I'm sure you'd be fine on this quest."

Katsuki pondered this for a moment, a hand going to his chin as he went it over. It sounded like this would be an escort mission instead of a dungeon crawl. The girl was giving him serious NPC vibes, even if she was a bit snippy. Well, at the end of the day. He needed a party member to take out this quest.

And he will take out this quest. It's been a week and he hasn't even finished any of the main questline yet. Demon King Generals was not something he knew about, but if he took those out, it would make the Demon King all the easier to defeat.

Kind of like stage bosses per level. Made sense, would help him grow, as well as give him a baseline for where he should be in terms of levels. All he needed to do was tolerate the extra who would party up with him.

"Fine, send them my way. I'll wait at the tables," Katsuki grunted, jabbing his thumb over to said table.

"Sure, just give me a minute," The girl said, spinning on her heels and skipping away.

What an odd extra. She seemed familiar too. Can't imagine why, Katsuki would think he'd remember someone as ostentatious as her. He shrugged as he took a seat.

As the girl promised, she ended up coming back with another woman in tow. At least this one wasn't dressed like a pervert. Katsuki's impression of her was immediately better.

"This is her, her name's Darkness. Oh, I'm Chris by the way," the girl introduced.

"Hello, It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," The woman said, bowing slightly.

Katsuki huffed, "whatever, I'm doing the dungeon, you don't need to do fuck all, you can be useless as shit as long as you stay out of my way, we clear?"

"Absolutely," came the instant deadpan reply.

"Okay… uh, anyways, we're going now," Katsuki said finding the winds taken from his sails.

"Hey, aren't you forgetting something?" Chris asked, hands going to her hips.

"No?" Katsuki asked annoyed as he was equal parts confused.

"A thank-you!"

"The hell would I be thanking you for?"

"How rude, I found someone who'd actually work with you."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Katsuki responded hotly.

"You don't know?! In one week, everyone knows who you are! The up-start rabid dog known as the Mad Wolf!"

"What the hell? Who's giving me that shitty ass nickname? I'll fucking kill them!"

Unknown to Katsuki, a many adventurers started to whistle innocently or find their mugs of ale very interesting. They all pointedly ignored the incensed blond.

"That's not all, people are saying that you were destined for the Berserker class, that you suffer from a cruse known as mad enhancement. It makes you angry all the time and impossible to communicate with."

"That's fucking bullshit! I'm perfectly easy to talk to," Katsuki vehemently denied.

Chris stared at him blankly with an expression that said: 'that's what you focus on, really?'. She quickly shook her head, refocusing herself.

"Well, if that's the case, then saying thank-you shouldn't be so hard, right?"

Katsuki clicked his tongue in frustration, looking away in displeasure. He folded his arms over his chest as he kicked at the dirt.

"Fine, whatever, thanks, I guess, you shitty bimbo," Katsuki mumbled petulantly.

"No. _Thank_-you," Darkness said seriously, her face a bit red.

Katsuki looked at her confusedly, "you catch a cold or some shit? You better not drag me down."

"No, please let me come with you!"

Katsuki wilted under her loud exclamation, okay. She's was a bit strange. But, he wasn't going to find another replacement. As much as he loathed to admit, he wasn't particularly interested in finding another person to party with. Too much effort for extras he'd ditch the next moment.

"Fine, come with me," Katsuki sighed, he fetched into his pocket and flicked an eris to the thief.

She caught it nimbly and blinked owlishly at him. A hand slowly went to her mouth, and her eyes went wide as saucers. He clicked his tongue in response, looking away with a growing scowl.

"Don't push your luck you shitty thief."

She stuck her tongue out at him as she pulled under her eye with an index finger. How childish, Katsuki thought as he stuck two middle fingers back to her in response.

He didn't waste any more time than that and went to the secretary. The woman was looking over some sheets. She noticed a presence closing in on her and lifted her head to smile at him.

The smile fell seconds later, "oh, how may I help you?"

Katsuki rolled his eyes, he didn't want any special treatment from the secretary anyways, "I want to take out the new dungeon quest."

Luna sighed tiredly, "I'm sorry Katsuki, but this is a party only quest."

"I know," He responded.

"Then, that means you need a party to go with."

"I do."

"And since no one in their right mind wou- wait, you do?"

"Yes," Katsuki gritted out, veins bulging at his temples.

"Oh, uh. Who, exactly?"

Katsuki jabbed his finger behind him. Darkness, who at the moment was squirming in place turned to face Luna with a dazed almost happy expression. She waved sheepishly at the secretary, one who was hesitant to return it.

"I see…. Okay, well, I guess you can take the quest then," Luna explained numbly, not believing it herself.

It did little to calm Katsuki's rising temper. Luna fetched for a map and almost reluctantly brought it forward. Katsuki ripped it out of her hands, already seething at her blatant act of mockery. It wasn't that shocking that he found one fucking party member damn it.

"Let's go, bootleg Saber," Katsuki said, gesturing for the blonde crusader to follow with a wave of his hand.

"Y-yes!"

Katsuki wasn't paying her any attention, his focus on the spread map in his hands. If they were fast, they could get there in a day's time. Not unfeasible, a bit further than he's used to. But, well, he was expecting to set out sooner than later.

"The dungeon's a day's away. You have your shit to camp?" Katsuki asked as the two walked through town.

Katsuki needed to stop for camping supplies, and it'd be better if the extra didn't leave his sight. Less the shitty secretary found out and revoked his right to take the quest.

"As a Crusader, I learned to live off the land, without any provisions," She explained.

Katsuki stared at her incredulously before shrugging. That sounded more like a Ranger or Druid class if he was being honest. Not that he cared.

"Whatever does it for you. Just don't die before we get to the dungeon at least."

He wasn't looking, so it came as a bit of a surprise when he thought he heard what sounded like a cat mewling. His head swiveled from side to side, to find the offending (cute) animal. To no avail, Darkness looked at his with a quirked eyebrow.

He clicked his tongue, he wasn't going to make himself look like an idiot in front of the extra. Purchasing equipment from the general store was a simple affair. He was surprised when Darkness purchased some monster attractant. He didn't even know that was a thing, felt like an older RPG feature. He was familiar with repels at least, so the concept wasn't entirely foreign to him. Even from where he stood, he could smell the faint potent smell from the small glass bottle.

For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why she'd need that over say, health or mana potions. But, to each their own. He meant that wholeheartedly, he wasn't sharing. NPC's prioritized the weirdest things.

The two eventually left town and marched down the street road. They'd follow it for a few hours before deviating into the forest, all according to the map that is.

"Excuse me, but I don't believe you've introduced yourself yet," Darkness eventually said after some silence.

Katsuki looked at her from the corner of his eye. Why was this idiot even matching his pace, she should walk behind him, as fitting of extra nobodies! He sighed instead. For some reason, he was finding it immensely difficult for anyone to take him seriously here.

"Bakugo Katsuki. Katsuki Bakugo, doesn't fucking matter what you call me as long as it's not that shitty nickname."

"I see, and, do you always speak like this?" Darkness next question was pointedly calm.

"Why the fuck do you care? You have a problem with it?"

"Not at all!" Was the quick almost manic response.

Katsuki turned to face her fully, a quirked eyebrow as he scanned her face. She had a deadpan emotionless expression. His fiery red eyes stared down her aqua blue. It was a silent battle of attrition. Eventually, he peeled his gaze off her with a click of the tongue. She didn't break under his stare, but he was starting to suspect she was hiding something.

She was starting to give him some weird signals here. It didn't matter in the end, he wouldn't let it distract him. They marched in silence for the remaining daylight. Conversation between them was scarce, with Katsuki usually ignoring all of her attempts and she, for whatever reason only seeing it as an incentive to continue.

The blond duo eventually broke off the main road and made their way through the forest. There was a trail to follow, something Katsuki was grateful for. Even though in his youth he'd like to pretend to explore the forest, he and his goons never really deviated away from the provided paths.

He didn't actually know how to navigate through a forest. If it weren't for the map provided to him, he'd probably not even attempt to venture towards the dungeon at all. Thankfully, despite her consistent ribbing, the secretary was damn good at what she did.

If only her uniform could match her professionalism. Hot pants? Seriously, what was up with this world?

Katsuki shook his head, willing the horrifying thoughts away. He turned to face Darkness, the woman was quiet for some time now, not even nagging him for a conversation. Admittedly, Katsuki was starting to believe she just wanted to get a reaction out of him.

But, all of the silence was starting to make him stir-crazy. And with the sun slowly fading into darkness, it was reminding him just how fatigued he was starting to feel. This prompted him to look at the blonde again, noticing her leisure almost relaxed pace only made him seethe internally. Her innocent smile and wave did nothing to placate his rising temper.

He wasn't going to get outdone by an extra! With gritted teeth, he continued down the trail. He grabbed an unlit torch and created micro explosions to light it up. This itself caught Darkness' attention. She ventured closer to him curiously.

"I was under the impression that you were a Berserker class."

"I am dipshit,"

"Ah, ha, yes… that is to say, did you not just cast a simple Fire spell?" Darkness recovered.

"No, magic pales in comparison to what I can do. Explosion is my ability."

"Explosion? But it was far too sma-"

"Did I stutter bootleg? I can control the level of my explosions."

"I… I see, that's very impressive then."

"No shit sherlock," Katsuki said derisively.

Katsuki forced some low hanging branches out of the way and broke through the treeline. He grinned, letting the branches swing back. He ignored the girly shriek as he marched towards the cavern opening. This had to be the dungeon.

He half wanted to go into the dungeon as soon as possible. But, rationale won out in the end. He was exhausted, mentally and physically. Marching mindlessly for hours had that effect on him. He slipped off his bag from his shoulders and placed it on the ground. Mechanically getting on a knee, he started to pull out the simple tent and went to set it up.

"Are we not going into the dungeon now?" Darkness asked, picking some twigs out of her hair as she walked up to him.

"No. We rest first then enter tomorrow morning."

"Very well," came the serious response.

After Katsuki was satisfied his tent wouldn't fall under a soft breeze, he smirked triumphantly. His gaze shifted from his handiwork to Darkness. The crusader was manning a fire, a stick poking into the kindling ashes.

His gaze travelled further, and unsurprisingly; he noticed a lack of a second tent. This idiot was really going to sleep without one.

"Where's your tent?" He asked anyways.

"Oh, I do not need one. Like I said, I learned to live off the wild. I do have this though, do not worry about me," Darkness answered, lifting up a rolled-up sleeping bag.

"I wasn't worrying about you," Came the almost petulant response.

He immediately cursed how fucking tsun it sounded. He wasn't a god damn tsundere!

"Whatever, just shut the fuck up and don't talk. If you so much as to make a sound I'll fucking kill you," Katsuki growled, entering his tent a moment later.

"Y-yes!"

Why did she sound so fucking happy about that?

He wouldn't let it bother him, he refused. That path only led to madness. He rested his head on his bag and slowly closed his eyes. He quietly drifted to unconsciousness.

Until the moment he heard the sound of a bottle crack, and the sound of something hissing. His eyes bugged as they snapped open. A sense of dread washed over him and he quickly exited his tent. He then heard the howls, his eyes narrowed and he frowned deeply at that. Mobs, he should have expected it, he didn't see any during their whole time in this forest. It was only a matter of time.

Darkness was already standing, blade unsheathed and pointing to the treeline. Katsuki could only make out peering pairs of eyes. He fell into a combative stance himself until he noticed the bottle by the campfire.

He recognized it immediately, it was the same fucking bottle this dumb bitch bought at the general store. Why the hell did she use the monster attractant?!

"Stay back, I'll protect you from these vile creatures," Darkness said, looking over her shoulder at him.

Said creatures were slowly stepping closer, taking on the shapes of wolves now that they were past the treeline. He however mostly ignored it in favour of staring at the blonde crusader incredulously. His eye twitched, where did she go off trying to sound cool after she caused this damn mess?

Well, whatever. He figured this quest was too boring anyway. He might as well see what Enraged had to offer him.

Activating the ability, he felt power surge through him, it felt like molten lava coursing through his veins. He inspected himself for a second, noticing a faint red hue outline him. Grinning sadistically, he lunged forward, both hands propelling him with explosions.

He soared over the gaping crusader towards the closest wolf. He mercilessly brought his hands towards its head and unleashed a violent explosion. The eruption completely enveloped the lone wolf, cutting off its efforts to bite him entirely.

He used the momentum from the explosion to safely fly back a few feet away from the smoldering defeated creature. He landed on the ground and slid against the grass for a few feet, stopping precisely by Darkness' left. He fetched into his pocket and popped the cork to a mana potion. He downed it instantly before tossing the bottle to the side. He was feeling a bit lightheaded with how much mana he chose to use on the animal.

"Quite impressive," She allowed, a stern and serious expression on her face.

It was these features that made Katsuki believe she was semi-competent. To only half-assedly praise him, she either was a fool, or someone who could back up her comments. He was inching towards the latter at the moment. The cold aura she emitted, the sharpness of her eyes. She was starting to look reliable for a second.

"Now, allow me!" Darkness shouted lunging forward herself, sword drawn back.

She sliced at the remaining two wolves with blinding speed. Katsuki blinked, momentarily stunned and infuriated with himself for not keeping up with the movements. Darkness remained frozen in place, her blade outstretched, and head ducked low.

The wolves remained in place, frozen themselves. It made Katsuki tense and wait suspensefully. After a few seconds, his curious mind wandered. What were they doing? In an almost dawning horror, it finally clicked like an epiphany. Did she cut through them so swiftly, they didn't even recognize the fatal attack? Were they dead standing? Just how powerful was this bootleg Saber? Was she even bootleg at all? What kind of NPC could be this powerful right out of the gate?

These thoughts circulated through his head like a brewing storm. He didn't want his thunder to be stolen from him. He was supposed to be the hero here, no one was supposed to surpass him! His eyes had a manic quiver to them as he tried to wrap his head around the prospect of meeting someone his superior in, well, forever! Even after all this time, the three of them, wolves and Darkness remained in place.

Well, not entirely. After focusing more on the woman, he noticed she was fidgeting. She wasn't even raising her head either. Was she so confident in her ability as to not even look the eye of her opponent? Sure, they're animals, but to not keep track of them was a testimony to her ability.

Then, the two wolves looked at one another, Katsuki thought it looked reminiscent to two confused people exchanging curious glances. But his addled mind wouldn't believe it. He was half expecting their heads to slide off at that moment.

Instead, he heard it, in the silence of the night, he heard the sound of something breaking under its own weight like bones crunching and snapping. He winced at the sound, especially thinking what it meant for the two wolves before him.

He stared at the two grey furred wolves, expecting them to explode in a burst of blood. Instead, he caught the tail end of the trees collapsing to the ground in front of him. Dust wafted into the air, causing Katsuki to finally react and move. He shielded his eyes.

After a moment, he waved the dust away and coughed. Once his vision finally cleared, he stared gobsmacked at the fallen trees. The wolves weren't in sight, so he quickly concluded they were underneath the wreckage.

Only one thought came to his mind, _what in the blue fuck happened!?_


End file.
